Vladimir Putin: biography

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is an outstanding Russia politician, the current President of the Russian Federation, the former chairman of the United Russia party. Since 2000 he rules the country after Boris Yeltsin. He has been running the country for the third time. In all presidential elections, the Russian leader won in the first round, gaining more than 50% of votes. Thanks to Putin there have been cardinal changes in both the economy and politics of the country. That is why many experts call Russia-2008 and Russia-2000 as completely different states.

Vladimir Putin in childhood

Vladimir Putin was born on October 7, 1952 in Leningrad to a family of factory workers. His father Vladimir Spiridonovich was a former front-line soldier, and served in the destruction battalion of the NKVD during World War II, and later took an active part in the defense of Leningrad. His mother Maria Ivanovna worked at the plant, and then as a nurse in a local hospital. She survived the siege of Leningrad, was a very kind and sympathetic person. It is known that Vladimir Vladimirovich was a late child in the family: he had two elder brothers, who were born and died during the Great Patriotic War before the birth of the future Russian president.

Vladimir Putin with his parents

The Putins lived in a communal apartment in Leningrad, located in the house number 12 on Baskoviy Lane. Until today, the president of the Russian Federation remembers his childhood without modern conveniences, emphasizing his invisible connection with the population of the country. Vladimir Putin's parents died in 1998 and 1999 of cancer, and didn’t have a chance to enjoy their son's success in politics.

Vladimir Putin studied at school No. 193, and after graduation moved to a special school № 281 focused on chemistry, where he received a diploma of full secondary education. As a child, Putin showed himself as a diligent student, who was keen on learning foreign languages, but at the same time not indifferent to sports. At the age of 11 he became interested in martial arts and attended Sambo and Judo sections.

Vladimir Putin on the tatami

The sports biography of Vladimir Putin is filled with numerous achievements. Until now, the president of the Russian Federation continues practicing in martial arts. His last achievements in sport were the ninth dan in Korean martial combat Taekwondo and the eighth dan in Kyokushinkai, which he got in 2013 and 2014.

Vladimir Putin in youth

After graduating from school, Vladimir Putin entered the Leningrad State University at the Faculty of Law and in 1975 he graduated from the university. In his student years, Putin met Anatoly Sobchak, who taught business law at the university. The future mayor of St. Petersburg later played an important role in the successful career of Vladimir Vladimirovich.

Career in the KGB

It is known, the future president worked in intelligence in his youth, which, as many mass media suggest, affected his style of governing the country. After receiving the LSU diploma, the young specialist worked in KGB. In the KGB of the USSR, Putin was working for almost 10 years. At the end of 1970s, Vladimir Putin attended the KGB School No. 1 (now renamed the School of Foreign Intelligence), and also studied training courses for the operational staff, where he received the diploma of a junior officer in the KGB.

Vladimir Putin worked in the KGB

In 1985, the future head of Russia was sent to the GDR. There he worked as a director of the House of Friendship of the GDR-USSR in the state security organs of the territorial intelligence department in Dresden. Vladimir Vladimirovich achieved significant results, thus he was awarded the Medal "For Merits to the National People's Army of the GDR". Putin was promoted to lieutenant colonel and offered a position in the central intelligence apparatus of the KGB of the USSR in Moscow.

Vladimir Putin

The future head of the Russian Federation refused this proposal and returned to his native Leningrad in the first intelligence department of the KGB. In 1991, Vladimir Putin filed a report on dismissal from the security services and became an advisor on international affairs to the rector of the Leningrad State University. In 1992, in the rank of lieutenant colonel, he was transferred to the reserve of the KGB.

Political career

The political biography of Vladimir Putin started in 1991 in the mayoralty of St. Petersburg, where, after being dismissed from the KGB, he headed the Committee on External Relations. Along with this, since 1994, he was the first deputy chairman of the government of St. Petersburg. Vladimir Vladimirovich took these posts thanks to Anatoly Sobchak, to whom Putin as a responsible worker was recommended by the rector of The Leningrad State University.

Vladimir Putin and Anatoly Sobchak

The team of the future Russian President in the St. Petersburg mayor's office, in particular, Dmitry Medvedev, Alexei Miller, Igor Sechin and Sergei Naryshkin, remain his companions and now, as they moved with him to the Russian government, where they took positions in the presidential administration and the management apparatus of state companies.

In 1996, after the failure of Sobchak in the gubernatorial elections, Vladimir Vladimirovich was invited to work in Moscow in the office of the President of the Russian Federation. A year later, Putin received a promotion and took up the post of the head of the Main Directorate of the President of Russia. For two years of active work the future president of the Russian Federation became one of the most influential person in the Kremlin, thanks to which he again changed his post and headed the Federal Security Service of Russia, and later the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Putin and Boris Yeltsin

In 1999, the former Russian President Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and, according to the Constitution of Russia, Putin became Acting President of the Russian Federation. Firstly he was appointed a deputy prime minister, and then a prime minister of the Russian Federation. In March 2000, Vladimir Putin won his first presidential election.

President of the Russian Federation

Putin’s first presidential term started when there was the invasion of Chechen militants in Dagestan. The decisive actions of the federal troops on the territory of Chechnya, thanks to the new president of Russia, brought the long-awaited victory. It was the key moment of Putin's strong position as a President. He tried to be close to people, and in 2001 the program "Hot Line with Vladimir Putin" was released for the first time, which became annual. Any resident of the country could ask the question to the president.

Vladimir Putin the President of Russia

From the very first steps on the post of the Russian president, Vladimir Vladimirovich began to take fundamental steps, which had a favorable effect on the economic conjuncture. Then his popularity and recognition among the population grew up, which allowed Putin to rule the country during the second presidential term. As a result of the presidential election of the Russian in 2004, he again won his competitors in the first round by a large margin.

Vladimir Putin

President Vladimir Putin during his presidency conducted a major constitutional and political reform, improved legislation in the judicial sphere, adopted a decree on the new Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, reorganized the Supreme and High Arbitration Courts of the country, signed the law on the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Criminal Responsibility for Corruption and approved the Concept of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation. According to many foreign experts, Vladimir Putin inherited a very difficult inheritance in the form of Russia, which he "removed" from imminent disintegration.

Tandem with Medvedev

After the second presidential term of Vladimir Putin, many critics claimed that he would find a way to stay at the head of the Russian government even further. However, he decided not to go against the Constitution of the Russian Federation, according to which it is not possible to rule the country by one president for more than two terms, and therefore transferred his powers to his successor Dmitry Medvedev, whom in 2008 the Russians elected the new president of the country. Putin at the same time became the prime minister of the Russian Federation and became the head of the party "United Russia".

Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev

During the period when Russia was ruled by Dmitry Medvedev, the society continued to give priority to the adoption of important political decisions to Putin, thus there appeared such term in the Russian government as "tandem." At that time, the country experienced the global economic crisis and the key direction of Vladimir Vladimirovich's activity was the social orientation and stability in the society.

Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev

In 2011, the current Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, officially nominated Putin for the post of the head of the state. In the elections in 2012, Vladimir Vladimirovich again won the race for the presidency, gaining 63.6% of votes. He offered Medvedev the post of prime minister of the country.

Crimea and the situation in Ukraine

The third presidential term of Vladimir Vladimirovich began with the signing of a series of May decrees in 2012. The most resonant changes in the country were the events of 2014, when Putin supported the Crimea, which applied for help to the Russian Federation. The local population refused to accept the legitimacy of the new government after the coup d'état in Ukraine.

Mass riots on Independence Square in Kiev

During EuroMaidan, Ukrainian protestors overthrew their president and held their own elections. The new president of Ukraine became the businessman and billionaire Petr Poroshenko, who firstly built his election campaign on the promise of an accession to the European Union, and then refused his words because of the "small support of this idea by the population". The Crimeans refused to recognize the new power, which caused military conflicts.

Petro Poroshenko on the anniversary of EuroMaidan

Then the Kremlin signed the Treaty on the adoption of the Crimea into Russia by forming new entities in the Russian Federation, Sevastopol and the Republic of Crimea. With the help of the Russian authorities, a referendum was organized in the Crimea, which resulted in the proclamation of the sovereign Republic of Crimea on March 11, and on March 18, 2014 an agreement on the entry of the Crimean republic into the Russian Federation was signed.

Residents of the Crimea celebrate the results of the referendum

After that, Russia was criticized and attacked by European countries, which consider the accession of Crimea to Russia as annexation, and the situation in the Donbass as the actions of the Russian president. Inside the country, opinions also divided, some believed that the return of the Crimea is a natural act, others blamed the government of Russia for aggravation the situation in Ukraine and capturing territories as in ancient wars.

Obama, Merkel and Olland initiated sanctions against Russia

Following the accession of the Crimea, the Russian Federation was accused of allegedly conducting a secret military campaign in the southeast of Ukraine, supporting and financing militia forces, and active participation of Russian military in military confrontations in Donbass. In addition, international experts accused Russia of the crash of the Boeing 777, which fell in the Donetsk region. The trial lasted more than a year, some of the materials were strangely lost, and some were compromised by falsification, so no one has been found guilty of tragedy, and a lot of blank spots remain in this story.

Air crash in Donbass

In the view of these events, the EU and other countries that blame Russia for the political crisis and the military conflict in Ukraine, adopted a number of sanctions against Russia that had negative impact on the economy of both sides.

Scandals and "viruses"

In addition, every year more and more questions began to evoke. For example, Chechnya and how the domestic policy of the Russian Federation relates to the mayhems happening in the republic, which is a part of Russia and receives funding from Moscow. There is scandalous news: forced weddings with children under 18, children's battles, threats to the press, and the military forces of the head of the region Ramzan Kadyrov. All this show the fact that Chechnya receives big money from the capital.

Vladimir Putin and Ramzan Kadyrov

In the press rumors began to appear about the "friends" of the president, who receive financial support despite everything. On the other hand, many experts and foreign media agree that, such a monetary binding is the only thing that allows to control the region.

In 2015, the Russians were distracted from the discussion of the bad news about foreign and domestic policy. There was a funny event. At the press conference with the president of the Russian Federation among various tricky questions, the journalist Vladimir Mamatov asked Putin why the chain stores do not take Vyatsky kvass for sale. The president joked, but promised to help the national product.

Video with the original question instantly became viral, and jokes about "Vyatka kvass" became Internet hits. At the same time the company reached the goal. The Vyatich was offered contracts from a big number of retail chains, journalists, PR managers and even managers of rapper Timati became interested in Vyatka kvass. The geography of sales reached the US and Germany.

In the same year, the documentary film "The President" was released, telling about 15 years of Putin as a President. The film received a warm response from President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, and in the world caused a fundamentally different reaction. Some media called it an attempt to justify; others called it an encouraging image of the leader.

Vladimir Vladimirovich often becomes the hero of videos of national production, the most memorable of them is the video clip "Vladimir Putin, Good job!" to the song about the president, which quickly becoming viral.

Elections-2018

Now the whole country is again following foreign policy. In the United States, which for many years have been the object of special interest of our country, presidential elections were held. The place of Barack Obama, who supported the Russian economy, was taken by businessman Donald Trump, who spoke very respectfully about Russia throughout the election campaign.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump on the presidency, the leaders of the two countries spoke for the first time on the phone. But, despite the warm attitude of the new president to Russia, he does not hurry to influence sanctions.

The presidential elections in our country also intrigue the public's minds, but Putin avoides specific answers to questions about the 2018 elections and even says that he has not yet decided whether he will even take part in them. Ill-wishers associate this with the age of Vladimir Vladimirovich, who at the moment is already 64 years old. Nevertheless, most of the population still expects that Vladimir Vladimirovich will again claim the presidential post.

Vladimir Putin. New Year greetings-2017

According to the VTsIOM, if the elections were held right now, more than 70 percent of citizens would vote for the current president, and the level of trust of citizens to the leader of the state, even more - according to different data from 82 to 89% of the population approve his actions.

Personal life

The personal life of Vladimir Putin is reliably hidden from the public and the eyes of Russians. According to official data, it is known that the Russian head married in 1983 to Lyudmila Shkrebneva, with whom he lived for about 30 years in marriage. Lyudmila Putina is not a public person; she rarely appeared with her husband at various events. There is also information that the head of Russia has two daughters - Maria and Katerina. There is no more detailed information about the life of the children and the wife of the leader of the state in official sources. The private life of Putin's daughters, like the president himself, is carefully guarded and not publicized.

Vladimir Putin with his wife and children

In 2013, Vladimir and Lyudmila Putina officially announced their divorce. According to the spouses, they experienced a "civilized divorce". The official reason for the divorce of Putin and his wife was the full employment of the Russian head at work, as a result of which the couple practically did not see each other. Ex-wife Lyudmila Putina reported that, despite the divorce, Vladimir Vladimirovich very well treats her and the children, providing every possible support in all matters.

Vladimir and Lyudmila Putina

After the divorce of Putin and his wife, Russian and foreign media filled the unconfirmed information about the love story of the Russian president with the gymnast Alina Kabaeva. While the private life of Putin is a "taboo" for journalists, the relationship between Vladimir Putin and Alina Kabaeva has been actively discussed for several years. On all public speculation the Russian head does not give comments, he considers them nonsense.

Vladimir Putin and Alina Kabaeva

The press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov made similar statements about the rumors that "the Russians chose the president, and not the man," and strongly recommended journalists to discuss the personality of the Russian president only in political issues, without interfering in his personal life.

Interesting Facts about Vladimir Putin

Despite the completely grounded secrecy of the head of state, the press knows several interesting facts about the president's passions and interests. For example, Vladimir Vladimirovich is a dog person. Putin has three dogs of different breeds: Labrador, Bulgarian Shepherd and Akita Inu. The three animals live together with the president in his residence near Moscow. The last two animals are gifts from the Bulgarian and Japanese delegations.

Also, the president does not hide the date of his birth, which allowed especially interested to find out which stars and planets patronize the Russian leader. According to the zodiac sign, Vladimir Vladimirovich is a Libra. The astrologers interpreted Putin as a person who has a desire for harmony and diplomatic talent. And according to the Chinese horoscope, Vladimir Putin is a Dragon, which, without any interpretation, causes pride among his fans.

Vladimir Putin

It is interesting that Putin has a rather small height - only 170 cm. This fact surprises some people who see the President of Russia for the first time. The point is the psychological effect, according to which people with public respect and expressed charisma seem to be much higher than their growth. So even with a small height, Vladimir Vladimirovich always seems superior to his opponents thanks to public support and his own character.